AP/Drudge/MSNBC: "Series of Strong Explosions Heard in Central Baghdad"

MSNBC/Drudge | 11.3.03

[mhking]

That's all we've got; no details yet.

[kegler4]

"What is it with this Peterson case? I would guess that 99.9% of the populations does not know him or his deceased wife. Why oh why is this case any different than the hundreds (thousands?) of murders that happen everywhere every year? Why are we constantly subjected to the details of it?"

Do a search on FR. There are piles of freepers absolutely fascinated with it. Doesn't make sense to me.

[Wisconsin]

Mortars are high tajectory artillery. Though they can be very large (and were historically), most in use now are quite small. In WWII the Japanes had avery light one that was fired while being held on a soldiers knee.

They typically throw a bomb ranging from the size of a hand grenade to 5 or so hand grenades.

They are extremely simple consisting of a piece of pipe that is stood near upright, often with two legs. The bottom of the pipe has a pin in its centre. The mortar round looks like a very small bomb, and has the propellant in its base (in light mortars the propellant is like a shotgun shell). The bomb is dropped into the tube, the pin strikes a percussion cap on the bomb that ignites the propellant and the bomb is propelled up and out of the tube.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m224.htm

Has some pictures

[philosofy123]

It is very easy to look back at the sixties when France was being bombarded daily by the Algerians. We have two things against us in this Iraq fiasco: one, we are messing with Moslems, and their Jihad thing, and two; we are an occupier, which make it so easy for the natives to want to expel us. Denying these facts, and forgetting the bitter lesson from Algeria is a big mistake.

[Sally'sConcerns]

What is a non-radical Islamic?

My next door neighbour for one.

So many people seem to think that just because one professes to be Islamic that it makes one radical.

Have you ever listened to a hard line Baptist preacher? We're all going to hell unless we repent; we're all lower than dirt because we're sinners; to play cards, dance, drink is sinful behaviour; we aren't worthy.

I was raised Southern Baptist, left when I was 14 and it took me years to find my way back to a loving, caring God. The message when I was growing up was that God didn't love me. Funny how it took another to point out to me that God loved me so much he gave his only son so that I might have everlasting life.

My point is that just as I'm not a radical Southern Baptist neither are the majority of Islamics. The majority of them simply want to raise their kids, pursue a better life and to live in peace with their neighbour.

When you say the want to blow up all of the western world, you are incorrect because it's the radical ones who want to destroy us.

Keep painting with a broad brush though.

BTW, the radical Islamics who want to destroy us and anyone else who doesn't believe their way should be sent to re-programming facilities and if that doesn't work, they should be destroyed.

[jbstrick]

Thank you Sally. Well said. I work with several Moslems who are embarassed and ashamed of the actions of these Islamofacists.

[No Blue States]

"The message when I was growing up was that God didn't love me. Funny how it took another to point out to me that God loved me so much he gave his only son so that I might have everlasting life."

Funny how Ive been a southern Baptist all my life and and was repeatedly taught that God loved me and that through his son we have available through faith the gift of eternal life. Are you sure you were listening? oh, speaking of brushing with a broad brush..

[philosofy123]

He is a white Anglo heterosexual male. They don't come any worse than that. Add to that he was cheating on his wife. He must be killed, just for that. You know Kobe Brian, the basket ball player; he cheated too, but he is not white!

[Sally'sConcerns]

I'm happy for you that you're pastor was capable of getting the message across and allowed you to hear God loved you. My pastor didn't and as he's the only pastor I had the opportunity to hear while I was growing up, he's who I had to base my exposure to God on.

Yes, I was listening. I listened when my 4th grade Sunday School teacher told us 'if God hadn't wanted us in outer space, he'd have put us there. I listened when my 5th grade Sunday School teacher told me to try harder where I didn't displease my father and earn a beating every Sunday after church. Trust me, I listened.

If I was painting Southern Baptists with a broad brush I'd have painted my current pastor with that same brush. Yep, I'm still a Baptist and I attend my local Baptist Church. I just don't have the same pastor I had when I was growing up. My pastor now doesn't yell at his congregation nor does he preach hellfire and damnation. He teaches about the love God has for us and about the acceptance Christ has for us if we claim him as our Saviour.

[b4its2late]

Welcome to Bombadan.

[CatoRenasci]

From an old 13A, congrats on a clear, relatively concise explanation. You might further point out that while mortars typically fire at higher angles than howitzers and have significantly shorter ranges, the are typically signifantly lighter than equivilently large bore tube artillery. All things considered, mortars are less accurate (greater range and deflection probably errors) than tube artillery, but capable of higher short-term rates of fire. There is considerable overlap, but mortars typically (being infantry, ot artillery, controlled weapons) are the most responsive close in fire support available to an infantry commander, especially at battalion level and below. Howitzers and gun/howitzers typically are longer range and more accurate, and capable of putting larger and more varied types of munitions (e.g. ICM, DPICM, etc) on targets seen as the critical threats to the larger scale maneuver units.

Mortars won't do the job when you want to lay the full weight of the reinforced divisional artillery on an armored division massing to your front, but you sure couldn't do any significant small unit work without 'em. Ping for good mortarmen.

[bluejean]

TERRIFIC MAP. Half of the world's problems solved with a few well placed nukes. It's so freaking simple. Can't we just kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out?

[killjoy]

In WWII the Japanes had avery light one that was fired while being held on a soldiers knee.

Putting it on your knee would have resulted in a broken knee. It wasn't ment to be fired that way as some of the GIs found out.

[tessalu]

Flatten a mosque every time there is an exposion.

[hankbrown]

Now that we know all about mortars (thanks, I was the one who asked and am glad to know the answer) and why Scott Peterson is popular, what do we know about these explosions? First it was large explosions, now silence. Any news.

[Wolverine]

CNN near the Interim authority building... while sitting in the bar...reports....

[johnb838]

radical Islamics who want to destroy us and anyone else who doesn't believe their way should be sent to re-programming facilities and if that doesn't work, they should be destroyed.

You mean "Diversity Training?" Sounds like they need it.

[P.O.E.]

The bonus would be we'd need more global warming to melt the ice caps to fill it all in.

[boxerblues]

Flatten a mosque every time there is an exposion.

Even if we targeted just a few feet from the door each time would be enough I think

[No Blue States]

"radical Islamics who want to destroy us and anyone else who doesn't believe their way should be"....slapped upside the head with a couple of Moabs.

[wideminded]

Thanks for the interesting lesson on mortars.